An owner recently picked up a Tiara for "a steal". A large portion of the discounted price was due to the fact the boat was not kept in good shape. The engine room was disgusting; caked on oil, etc. Not only is this immediately not visually appealing, but it is a good indication that the previous owner did not take great care of the boat. As we contiously stress, not having a clean bilge makes it difficult to detect issues when they (inevitably) arise.
Lets take a look at the before:

This picture is bad, but a few things to remember; this is the Centerline bilge, which means it does not get all the drips and contaminants that fall from the engines. This compartment is supposed to be the cleanest, so clean in fact that the bilge pump actually pumps overboard from here! Yuck

Much better. Better looking, better for hardware, hell, better for the bilge. Oil and gas are a little rough on surfaces, but other fluids such as that leaking from hydraulic lines can permanently damage or stain the bilge.

Here, you see a test spot we did. Imagine an entire bilge the gray color (when in fact, much was far worse), compared to the light gray-white that is achievable.

I think we have done enough gel pictures, but here is a recent test spot (different Tiara) of the shine difference.